Dog Days of Summer
by z3annie
Summary: In the lull of summer, Sirius Black decides that a certain frizzy-headed bookworm has been holed up in his library for too long. Fun ensues. AU (Sirius lived). Longer, lemony version up on AO3. :)


**First story, please be kind! Constructive criticism is welcomed!**

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Disclaimer: If you recognize something, it was probably created by J.K. Rowling. I make no money off of this, I just need an outlet, and enjoy being a puppeteer every once in a while.

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Hermione turned the corner that would lead her to her favorite room at Number 12 Grimmauld Place but found her path blocked by a large, black, bear-like dog. Hermione paused. Padfoot had rarely paid any attention to her (much to her dismay, as she'd harbored a fairly sizable crush for his human form for a few months). Why was he preventing her from walking into the library? A sudden realization overtook Hermione: _Harry and Ginny must be having a moment in there, the gods know it has happened in every other room of the house._

Hermione sighed exasperatedly but couldn't find it in herself to actually be annoyed with them. Following the fall of Voldemort, it was only natural that they wanted to spend as much time together as possible.

Somehow or another, a whole pack of them had ended back up under the same roof again, Harry and Ginny, Remus and Tonks, Hermione, and of course, Sirius, but this was his house after all. Hermione supposed she was really the odd one out, after trying and failing to reverse the memory charms on her parents, she just couldn't find it in herself to return to her childhood home. When he heard that she was out of a place to stay, Sirius had insisted that she take up residency at Grimmauld, at least for the holidays, before going back to complete her N.E.W.T.s and to help Minerva at Hogwarts.

Minerva had eagerly asked Hermione if she'd be willing to take the younger levels of Transfiguration for a year until she was able to find a new professor. Hermione had consequently locked herself away in the library in order to study for her N.E.W.T.s which she would be taking in October, and also to work on lesson plans with the help of Minerva's old ones.

It was odd. She couldn't see or hear Harry and Ginny. She inched closer and Padfoot bowed and poised on his hind legs as if threatening to pounce on her. She giggled and took a step backward, but in her momentary closeness to the door, she didn't get any indication that Harry and Ginny, or anyone for that matter, was actually in the library. She looked him in the eye and he started wagging his tail.

"Sirius, is there anyone in there?" she asked. The dog shook his head. "Are you hiding something in there?" Another no from Padfoot. "Did you bury a bone in there?" This time she spoke teasingly and Sirius crouched as if to pounce again.

"Okay, Okay, what is it then?" Padfoot came up to her right hand, nuzzled it, cocked his head slightly, then walked past her briskly. She shook her head bemusedly and made to walk into the library but Padfoot let out a very loud bark and bounded in front of the door, growling.

At her brief look of fear, he wagged his tail, whimpered at her, and rolled onto his back. She furrowed her brow confusedly then knelt down and began to rub his belly, watching in amusement as his right hind leg began to shake uncontrollably. After a few moments, he stood up once more and licked her hand. Very gently, so as to not bite her, he grabbed her watch band between his teeth and tugged. Sirius' animagus was very large so Hermione didn't have to bend over at all as he led her down the hall, down the stairs, and to the back door in the kitchen.

"Honestly Padfoot, if you needed to go to the bathroom, you could always just transform back and walk down the hall." Hermione laughed. This time, Sirius did lunge, knocking her back onto the bench in the kitchen. Hermione was too busy laughing to care though. He sat in her lap for a minute looking like an extremely large dog that didn't understand that he wasn't the size of a chihuahua, before taking hold of her watch band once more, leading her to the door, but this time turning the knob with one of his own paws. Out in the yard, he released her arm to grab a large stick and bounded back to her, dropping it at her feet.

"Really, Sirius?" He barked his assent and she threw the stick as far as she could, which ended up spanning the length of the yard. He ran after it, leaped into the air with far more grace than your typical Newfoundland and caught it between his teeth. Hermione laughed again and sat down on the stairs to the back door still shaking her head. Padfoot dropped the stick and trotted over to her.

"You know, Sirius, most dogs are smart enough to understand that in order to fetch again, they have to bring the stick back." Hermione shot snarkily as Sirius broke into a run coming directly toward her. He did not pounce on her, however. He lay down with his head and front paws on her lap and haunches on the stair next to her, and transformed back into a man, squishing her into the side of the railing in the process. She giggled at his ridiculousness once more as he righted himself from being sprawled out all over the step.

"It's about time you get out of that library for a bit and have yourself a smile," said Sirius jovially. "There's only so much to review, you know." He paused for a moment and leaned back. as though in a reclining armchair. "How many N.E.W.T.s are you up for anyway?" he asked with interest.

"Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Care of Magical Creatures, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Arithmancy, Astronomy, History of Magic, Herbology, and Ancient Runes, with specificities in Human Transfiguration, Numerology, Healing Potions and Charms, Hexes and Jinxes, Cross-Species Languages, Gaelic Runes, and Alchemy," she recited in habitual monotone, as she seemed to be answering this question very frequently.

"Good grief, girl, take a breath." He smiled, mirth dancing in his slate grey eyes. "Besides, even if you only get N.E.W.T.s in half of those things, you'd be one of the most accomplished witches of the century." He paused for a moment and then looked to her in surprise. "Human Transfiguration? Are you an animagus?"

"No, I haven't gotten around to that one yet. Someday…" she trailed off smiling.

"Well I would be...paws-itively delighted to help you reach your pet-ential if you ever want some help...the gods know I'm a bit desperate to be of help with anything these days." She grinned at his joke but noticed the definite note of bitterness in his tone. "It's high time that I leave this place. Too many bad memories." Hermione was surprised at his sudden change in subject and tone and was unsure of how to respond. At his Accio, a pitcher of iced pumpkin juice and two silver goblets opened the door and landed softly a few stairs above them. He poured them each a drink and spoke again. "The house is technically Harry's, I left it to him before the incident with that damned curtain, and since I've been back, it hasn't reinstated even though my vault at Gringotts remains mine. I think the bloody hovel just senses that I don't want it anymore." Sirius laughed harshly and took a sip from his goblet.

"Have you started looking elsewhere?" Hermione inquired tentatively. He shot her a look but shook his head in answer.

"I can't exactly traipse into an open house. People still don't exactly trust me: you see, I think it may have something to do with the fact that my deranged face has been plastered over every square inch of spare space in the entirety of Britain for several years, but that's just a hypothesis." He gave a cheeky sort of smile.

" I think I'd like Hogsmeade or another small wizarding village. I like the idea of space to run around and freedom to occasionally go for a fly on the bike without fear or getting caught by the Muggle authorities." His mischievous twinkle returned to his eyes at this thought.

"I don't want to be lonely here when everyone leaves again. Remus and Tonks are moving out in two weeks, they just told me this morning, and you're leaving at the end of the summer. I know Harry and Ginny have no plans to vacate, but they're much too wrapped up in one another to be providing company for a senile, decrepit, old man."

"So you want to go be lonely in Hogsmeade? And honestly Sirius, you're not even forty!" she laughed.

"Ah, taking the bait perfectly, my dear." Sirius winked.

This was all very strange for Hermione. She and Sirius were never on tense terms (aside from the moments in her fifth year when she thought him reckless), but they never really gravitated towards one another. It was odd of him to seek her out. _I guess he really is lonely_. She didn't get too long to think about it before he spoke again.

"Are you hungry? I could ask Kreacher to fix something if you like."

They sat in each other's company for a bit longer, eating the tea sandwiches that Kreacher brought out for them and sipping on pumpkin juice. They spoke about everything and nothing. He talked about his adolescent stupidity, his gratefulness for James Potter's parents, animagi transformations, loneliness during wartime. She spoke of her aspirations of learning about wandmaking or going into the Unspeakables, the time she set Snape's robes on fire, and the small annoyances of camping for months with two teenage boys.

"...I swear you'd think that they weren't wizards. Every time we'd move locations, the sink would be covered in beard clippings. It was disgusting."

Sirius chuckled and continued to question her, and they shared laughs outside on the porch for the rest of the afternoon.

Until…

"Shite, I forgot that it's my night to make dinner!" Sirius looked at her in alarm. "What do we have in there? Do you know?" Her eye-roll was so pronounced she was surprised it wasn't audible.

"Not much unless you intend to prepare us all some gourmet cereal and peanut buttered toast." She smiled at him. Sirius' meals were always notoriously late at night due to the fact that he nearly always forgot about them, but he was actually a pretty decent cook.

"Fancy a ride on the bike?" Sirius asked. "You know, just to help a senile old man get his groceries?"

Not to be baited again, she replied with, "As long as we stay on the ground. I've never liked flying much."

"Deal! Wait, really? Those rides on Buckbeak must've been hell for you then. Let me go grab the keys."

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She noticed that he was being incredibly cautious on his motorcycle. He never accelerated very quickly, he made sure that he'd given her a helmet and fastened it properly, and he routinely checked in with her about every few miles. She'd half expected him to pop a wheelie and go racing down the streets, and once they'd reached the nearby grocer's she told him so.

He smiled, "Precious cargo. And I find that a nice cruise does far more for me in the way of feeling free now after several years of running and being chased."

After gathering everything they needed, they paid. Once outside, they shrunk their bags down to fit in their pockets and re-mounted the bike. The cruise back was just as comfortable and Sirius, went meandering for a bit down side streets. It was so clear that he loved this bike. He had this air of boyish glee about him and it made him look even more handsome than he already was.

Upon arrival back at Grimmauld, they came to find two notes sitting on the counter.

Both Harry and Remus and their respective partners had a ministry function to attend to that night. Sirius exhaled loudly and petulantly at his lack of mouths to feed the food he'd just bought, then began to stow it all away. He smiled to himself mischievously and fixed two bowls of cereal and some peanut buttered toast. He took them up to the library to Hermione only to find her fast asleep on top of one of her books. He took the book out from under her and carefully positioned her to have her head on the armrest of the couch, put her 'dinner' on the coffee table in front of her and scribbled a note that he left beside it.

Enjoy this gourmet meal that I slaved over for hours.

-S

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Hermione awoke around an hour later with a crick in her neck. She sat upright and snorted at 'dinner' and its accompanying message. She ate it though and resolved to have steak and potatoes for breakfast the next morning to balance everything out. She didn't notice the black dog in the corner eyeing her smugly.

Just as she went to pick her study materials, the black dog walked the couch and hopped up next to her. Padfoot rolled over onto his belly and began whimpering. At first, she ignored him as she had a lot of work to do, but his mewling became louder and louder. So she finally gave in and scratched him on the belly. Sirius morphed back into his human form, crushing her into the side of the couch this time.

After he finished snickering at her, he moved to her side and began to gather her papers for her. He sat next to her as she worked, sometimes helping her review, sometimes reading for himself, sometimes just watching. _She really is lovely. When the hell did that happen?_ Another internal voice spoke up: _When did it happen, or when did we start taking notice?_ He thought as he watched her absorbed in her work. He summoned himself some Firewhiskey and a glass and poured himself a dram. She looked up at him.

"Do you like Firewhiskey?" he asked mildly.

"I...I don't know," said Hermione. She took the drink from his proffered hand, and at his insistence, only took a small sip. She felt a more intense version of the feeling you have at the first sip of hot tea when it's exactly the right temperature. She hummed her approval and handed it back to him. Sirius continued to sip his drink and offer up more to Hermione every few minutes. Abruptly she set her things down and looked at him.

"Is everything okay, Sirius?"

"Of course, why do you ask?" he countered.

"Not that I'm complaining, but we've spent most of the day together. Typically, you just leave me to my studying. Please don't get me wrong, it has been a welcome change but it's just… odd." Hermione said this nervously. She was afraid he'd come under the impression that she didn't like his company, or that she wanted him to leave.

He smiled and scooted a bit closer to her.

"I'm not keen on the idea of a beautiful, talented, brilliant young witch locking herself away in this nasty old house. I think it's a noble thing, what you've decided to do for Minerva, but no doubt you're already over prepared for the position. Hermione, you've just lived through one of the worst wars in our history. The war took away a significant portion of your childhood, and your freedom to enjoy yourself." he sighed,

"I guess I just hoped I could coax you out of this cave for a bit of fun today." He continued to look at her and she nodded and smiled, but he wouldn't stop looking at her. She ducked her head and blushed as she realized that in fact, he'd just called her beautiful, among other nice descriptors. She leaned closer to him and picked up the arm closest to her. Looking up to him, he smiled warmly and beckoned her nearer with his other hand. Hermione placed the hand she was holding around her shoulders. She sat right next to him and rested her head against his shoulder.

Neither one of them said anything for a while as they just enjoyed each other's company. After a while, he leaned down and nuzzled his nose into her hair. She looked up at him.

"You really are very lovely, you know," he said quietly.

"Your time in Azkaban must have affected your eyesight," she joked.

He shook his head and steeled his features a bit.

"If anything, my time in Azkaban just improved it." Hermione blushed and looked away. "Am I making you uncomfortable, Hermione?" he asked. "I'll stop if you wish me to, but it's just a bit concerning." He caught her confused look and continued before she could properly ask what he meant.

"You've been here for the better part of two months and I've yet to see you with a young man, yet you could easily have your pick of the population I'm sure." Hermione snorted. "It's true. Except for maybe Harry, he seems rather taken," said Sirius with a grin. "I don't like that you deflect when I compliment you. The fact that you're unsure of what to say to me when I make a comment no doubt means that you've probably never had anyone tell you, and that is a problem as far as I'm concerned."

"Sirius?

"Mmmmm?"

"What about you?"

"What about me?" He shot her a sardonic sort of look.

"I haven't seen you with anyone either," she said.

He just grinned. "I sowed my wild oats when I was your age, besides... previously convicted murderer… living in mother's house, need I say more?"

They sat there a bit longer in front of the hearth.

"I'm nervous," said Hermione so quietly she wasn't sure if he'd heard her. For a minute she thought he hadn't because he didn't respond immediately, instead, he repositioned both of them so they were sitting face to face cross-legged. He bent lower in order to get beneath her gaze and try to meet her eyes.

"Nervous about what?" His voice was so gentle.

"I've never…" she trailed off dropping her eyes even father down. "I don't want to make a fool of myself."

"Never…anything? Not even with Ron? Hermione, the right bloke would make you feel completely comfortable and welcome to be yourself. Besides, I very much doubt that you could make a fool of yourself doing anything." At this, she met his eyes and smiled.

"Ron and I were never a thing, I was jealous for a minute when he was with another witch, but I came to realize it was just because it felt like I was losing my friend." she paused for a moment, then continued, "in my fourth year, I was seeing Viktor Krum, but nothing much happened excepting a quick snog after the Yule Ball and a nice string of letters."

"The Bulgarian Seeker and Durmstrang Champion? Told you! You could have anyone. Did you enjoy it?" He asked earnestly.

She nodded but looked at him confusedly. "Just checking to see if you were into Y-chromosomes." She laughed. "Hey, it's a fair question."

"Sirius?

"Hmmm?"

"D'you think it'd be okay...I mean would you mind if I got close to you again?

I enjoyed that too." Her cheeks darkened even further. He smiled and pulled her back into his side with his arm around her.

"I'm not a schoolboy," he said softly. Leaning down towards her and placing his forehead against hers.

"And I'm not a little girl." She felt a bit defiant at his insinuation.

"I'm aware… Hermione… what is it that you want exactly?"

"Maybe a kiss, maybe more… if you want. You make me feel comfortable." He nodded and leaned so their mouths were touching, but he didn't kiss her yet. She felt the light stubble that she'd seen on his face, but it wasn't uncomfortable or rough against her skin. It was nice and… Y-chromosom-y… It was masculine. It was Sirius.

"You're certain?" he mumbled against her lips.

"Only if you want to. I don't want you to feel like you have-" His lips descended on hers very slowly and moved very gently upon reaching their destination. His hand rose to cup her face, while he alternated between suckling on her bottom and top lips. His other hand came up to tangle in her hair as he massaged her scalp. It was the slowest, sweetest, and undoubtedly the best damn kiss she'd had. Gently he brushed his tongue against her bottom lip and began to lay open-mouthed kisses against her closed lips. When she finally opened her mouth, he didn't just shove his tongue inside as she remembered Viktor doing. He teased her and then pulled back. Eventually, she decided to play him at his own game and when he retreated from her mouth again, she followed his tongue back into his mouth mimicking his movements, then retreated abruptly as he'd done. He made a low noise somewhere between a laugh and a murmur and she felt his chest reverberate under her fingertips that sat above his sternum as if waiting for permission.

All of the sudden, Hermione became extremely self-conscious and realized that she had not moved her hands an inch. As if on cue, he took each of her hands in turn and placed one around his neck, the other flat on his chest, and broke the kiss in order to move down her neck. He kissed his way up to her ear and intoned,

"It's alright, you can touch. I'll guide your hands if I'm after something specific or I'd like you to move elsewhere, and you should do the same for me." She leaned back and looked at him.

"Whatever?"

"Whatever." Sirius smiled. "You're free to explore, but first, would you be comfortable sitting up here?" He patted his lap. "Our necks and backs will be sore if we keep up like this. Of course, I don't mind if you're more comfortable-"

She moved without question and sat straddling him, but not completely flush with his body. As she was reasonably short, and he was quite tall, they sat eye to eye.

"Ah, all the better to see you with, my dear."

"Little Red Riding Hood? Sirius, you're a pureblood…" she eyed him.

"Don't remind me," he grinned impishly. "I took Muggle Studies to distress ol' Walburga." He sat with a hand fretting about her waist, and leaned his head back against the couch, closing his eyes. "My gods, I've been lonely here."

Hermione puzzled over this for a moment. It must have shown on her face because he opened his eyes and made to speak again. "Everyone's paired off now; Harry and Ginevra, Remus and Tonks, you and my library." He broke off with a melodramatic sigh and gaze. "Seems like I'm always the odd one out these days."

"Well, you can have me, assuming your library is willing to share," she teased.

"And assuming I'm willing to share." When she met his eyes again, they were not light and humorous, but stormy and intense, and Hermione had a feeling he was no longer referring to the library. "I don't care much for sharing," he expressed just as seriously.

"Nor do I." She tentatively grabbed either side of his collar and pulled him upright. His arms wrapped around her; one slithered up her back and the other went back to its earlier occupation in her hair. Their lips met once more, and while it was still gentle, the kiss had a new type of heat. Sirius didn't tease anymore, he massaged her tongue with his own before retreating to let her reciprocate. Every once in a while, he'd alternate back to a liplock, or kiss around her face. Her breathing deepened and she felt almost feverish with the heat that had crept up her chest into her cheeks. Hermione, for her part, was a bit more comfortable with her hands than she had been earlier and mimicked his actions with a hand against his back, and another rubbing his scalp.

She slid back on his legs a bit and moved both of her hands around to the row of buttons on his shirt. When she began to undo them, he put up no resistance. In fact, as he kept kissing her, there was no indication that he'd even noticed aside from the fact that he fleetingly removed his hands from her in order to pull his shirt out from the waistband of his corduroy trousers.

She finished with the last button and wrapped her arms around his middle, under his shirt, breaking the kiss in favor of pressing her cheek to the soft, fleshy skin just above his collarbone, and absorbing his warmth. She trailed a hand around to his front and began to trail her fingers over the fading tattoo at his sternum.

"Should you wish to continue this, I think it might be best if we move to one of our rooms. I'm not being presumptuous, though admittedly I'd love to spend the night with you. Unfortunately, everyone will be back soon. Satiating your curiosity is going to take time, voyeurism can wait for another day." Sirius added with a smirk. He took her hand and lead her to the hall.

"Which way, m'lady?" he said with a comical bow. She blushed and began walking towards the staircase that would lead up to his room.

**This is all I will be posting of this story on this site due to the ratings, but the complete lemony goodness will eventually be up on AO3 in a story under the same name. My name over there is ZephyrusAnemoi1346 :)**


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